


Homemaking

by Piinutbutter



Category: Original Work
Genre: Fluff, Ghosts, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-24
Updated: 2018-09-24
Packaged: 2019-07-05 15:21:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15866340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Piinutbutter/pseuds/Piinutbutter
Summary: Sometimes, Alexander thinks, living with his houseguest is not unlike living with a cat. Except that the cat is incorporeal. And dead. And wants to sleep with him....Alexander has never been good with figurative language. There's a reason he chose to take Economics 101 over Intro to Creative Writing, back in the day.





	Homemaking

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cherryontop](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherryontop/gifts).



It started with little annoyances. Cupboards would be opened when he knew they’d been closed. Doors would creak and slam no matter how careful he was with their hinges. Faucets would turn themselves on full force while he was at work.

That last one annoyed Alexander the most. He turned the tap off with a definitive yank of his wrist, and sighed into the empty penthouse. “I have a favor to ask. Could you please manifest yourself in a way that doesn’t run up my water bills? I would appreciate it.”

From the way the cupboards above the sink sheepishly closed themselves, Alexander suspected his poltergeist hadn’t expected to be chastised in such a manner.

Alexander smiled. “Thank you.”

One day, the TV turned itself on as he was making dinner. He reached for the remote instinctively, but let it drop from his hand back onto the cushions. The TV was showing a reality cooking show filled with dramatic music and lush closeups of dishes assembled by panicked home cooks. Not something Alexander would choose, but...

“Is this what you like to watch?” Alexander turned the stove to a low simmer and sat himself on the couch. “I’ll join you. Who knows, it might give me some ideas.” He rarely put in the effort of making elaborate meals; work took up so much of his time. His mother would be appalled at the amount of instant noodles and microwave dinners in his kitchen. 

He probably imagined the cold, fleeting presence on the other half of the couch. Probably.

What he didn’t imagine: The cold breeze that brushed his legs in the middle of the night. His covers had been pulled back, his barely-clothed form exposed to the late night chill.

“What is it?” Alexander muttered, trying not to sound too grumpy. The ghost had never woken him in the night before. (At least, not on purpose. It had cut the door slamming off after 10 PM at Alexander’s request.) Maybe it needed something. Alexander had a suspicion what that need was, but his mother had taught him it was rude to assume.

The cold air turned from an idle environmental breeze to something much more deliberate. An icy touch dragged down Alexander’s neck, tracing his spine. 

Alexander’s lips curled into a soft smile. He shifted on the pillow and brushed his hair away from his neck, exposing it to the other member of his household. A dog baring its throat, conveying both trust and submission.

“I admit, I don’t know how this is going to work. Just - be gentle?”

Cold swallowed his whole body. It felt like home.


End file.
